


Red Elephant

by Aleeab4u



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-20
Updated: 2012-06-20
Packaged: 2017-11-08 04:55:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/439370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aleeab4u/pseuds/Aleeab4u
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jasper's having a bad day. Concerned, Bella hounds Edward for answers initiating an embarrassing yet necessary conversation. We all know it never made sense that SM didn't address the 'red' elephant in the books. Written from a prompt from The Canon Tour. O/S E/B Rated T.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red Elephant

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written from a prompt from The Canon Tour o/s contest, Twilight round. The prompt was - "Every girl hates her period. Jasper hates it more..."
> 
> Thanks to my beta Saritadreaming.

Red Elephant

. . . . . .

Lunch is stressful.

I sit down at the table with Edward beside me and try not to feel intimidated. Not an easy feat on any day when you're surrounded by five gorgeous vampires. I'm still trying to get used to all of this, and I can't help but glance around me, warily studying faces and trying not to be conspicuous about it.

Something seems off. I can't put my finger on what it is though.

Rosalie is being Rosalie – I guess. She looks bored, aloof, and far beyond the inadequate adjective of beautiful. Emmett is being Emmett, or what I assume is normal for him. He always seems amused and happy, and today doesn't really seem any different. Except for the weird looks he keeps shooting Jasper's way. Like he finds something funny but is concerned all at the same time.

Alice is chattering away. I stopped listening closely when I realized she's flitting from topic to topic so fast she's barely waiting for a response from anyone. That's not really abnormal for her, yet I get the impression she's trying too hard to be upbeat.

I take a second to watch Jasper. I don't know him – at all. Normal to him seems to be a sort of pained look and a quiet demeanour. Today, however, his normal seems to be a bit more obvious. He looks positively miserable.

Edward's hand runs down my back as I push my food around. I was hungry when I sat down, but I'm definitely not now. Alice leans forward, smiling at me.

"Is that awful?" She points at my somewhat limp salad. "It looks awful. Do you want me to get you something else? Pizza maybe? Or what about soup? I heard someone say the soup was pretty decent. That salad looks like it's past its expiry date." She wrinkles her nose cutely, her rapid fire questions coming so fast they make my head spin.

"What? No, no, it's fine, Alice. I'm good."

"But you're not eating!"

"Alice." Edward's tone holds a note of censure.

"Well she's not," Alice defends. She reaches out and strokes Jasper's arm, taking his hand and twining her fingers through his – not such an unusual thing to do, but they aren't really the PDA type, so it strikes me as odd. "Come on, Jazz. Come with me to get Bella something else to eat."

"Alice, honestly, I don't want anything else. The salad is fine; I'm just not very hungry."

Rosalie curls her lip and rolls her eyes. "Isn't it bad enough we have to sit here and smell all this slop? Do we have to discuss it as well?"

Emmett reaches out and pokes a finger at my plate. "It's not slop, babe. That's what they feed pigs. It's salad, and it just smells like leaves and grass; it's not that bad. Bella, are you one of those vegetarian, vegan, whatever eaters, that think it's like a crime to eat meat?"

Luckily for me, Lauren Mallory and her friends save me from having to answer by making a noisy entrance into the cafeteria.

As I thank the Gods of timely interruptions, Jasper winces and grabs the table. I'm pretty sure I hear it crack. I jump a little, and Edward suddenly sighs.

"Are you finished?" he asks, barely waiting for me to nod before he stands, picking up my tray in one hand, and holding the other out to me in offering. "It's still not raining. Would you like to sit outside with me for a while before class?"

I glance around the table feeling unsure about leaving so abruptly, but they all seem preoccupied. Alice is once again petting Jasper and whispering something in his ear. Rosalie still looks detached, but Emmett is frowning, glancing from Lauren's table to Jasper.

Something's definitely off.

Edward tugs my hand and distracts me, smiling in that way that makes me forget everything except him, and leads me away.

. . . . . .

Later, Edward meets me outside my last period class. He leans down to press a kiss to my forehead, murmuring a soft hello that does something funny to my insides, before taking my book bag off my shoulder and putting it over his. Jessica Stanley almost trips over her feet trying to watch us as he takes my hand and we begin walking to our lockers. I hoped the novelty of us would wear off after a few days, but it hasn't yet. We still attract tons of attention and curious looks.

Ignoring the usual multitude of gapers, I wait until I'm sure no one is listening before asking the question that's been bugging me all afternoon.

"What's wrong with Jasper today?" I lean a little closer to Edward in the crowded hallway, keeping my voice pitched low despite the noise made by dozens of students talking and cramming books and papers into cluttered lockers. His arm slips around my waist as he deftly manoeuvres me away from a rowdy group of junior guys pushing each other into walls for sport. I don't miss the glare he directs at the boy in the front who almost swipes me with his elbow or the way that glare makes the poor kid pale and mutter a quick sorry. I do ignore it though. I'm starting to get used to Edward's over-protective side, and avoiding an elbow in the ribs is a good thing.

"What makes you think anything is wrong with Jasper?"

We've reached my locker, but instead of opening it to deposit my armful of books and papers, I turn to look at him, surprised. Edward answering a question with a question is rare, and generally a sign of evasion. I try narrowing my eyes at him, but he's already spinning the combination into my lock. Without meeting my gaze, he takes my stuff and puts it inside.

"Do you need anything for homework?" he asks, pulling out my jacket and holding it up for me to slip my arms into.

Making a slight face, I tug it out of his hands and put it on myself, glancing around, a little embarrassed at his old fashioned display of manners. It's a wonder people don't notice more about how different he is. What teenage guy does things like that nowadays?

"No. I don't have any homework," I answer a bit acidly, reaching out and closing the locker myself. "And how do you know my combination anyway?"

Edward just smirks and reaches out for my hand. I twine my fingers in his, enjoying the little electric tingle I still get every time he touches me, and let him lead me down the hall to the doors out to the parking lot. Since the question was rhetorical – nothing slips by Edward so of course he knew my combination – I let it go and wait till we get to his car to pursue my real topic of interest.

"Why are you avoiding my question about Jasper?"

Edward adjusts the heat for me, directing the warm blast of air from the vents in my direction as I shiver and huddle into my jacket. It's not raining yet, but the damp cold is settling in my bones foretelling the fact that the drier weather we've had lately is about to end. Easily navigating the Volvo out of the congested parking lot, he shrugs.

"I'm not avoiding it. I was just wondering why you thought something was wrong."

I roll my eyes at him. "Maybe because he looked like he was in pain all day."

"Jasper always looks that way. It's a harder struggle for him to be around humans. He hasn't had as much…practice."

"Yes, but it seemed worse today than normal."

"Was it that noticeable?" he asks, frowning with concern.

"Probably not to everyone," I comfort, though now that I know the truth about the Cullens and what they are, I sometimes find it hard to believe how much my fellow students miss.

"He also left early with Alice," I add unnecessarily, since I know he must already be aware of that.

Edward shrugs again. "Some days are harder for him than others, I suppose." He reaches for the radio and turns it on.

I reach out and turn it back off.

"You are definitely avoiding," I tell him, searching his side profile for clues. As usual he's impossible to read, and I get nothing from his expression as he stares stoically out the windshield. His concentration on the road is way too intent, though. Edward doesn't need to concentrate when driving, and there's no heavy traffic…

A knot forms in my stomach. Our relationship is new and already based on so many secrets, but I thought we were past this evasion stuff. What can be worse than learning the boy you are falling in love with is a vampire?

"What aren't you telling me? What's wrong?"

He glances at me, surprised at my slightly panicked tone. "Nothing's wrong, Bella. I told you some days are harder for Jasper than others. Today was just one of those days. Alice will have taken him to hunt. He'll be fine in a few days."

I narrow my eyes at him again, playing what he's just told me over in my mind, not missing the incongruity of something he said.

"If he hunts, why won't he be fine today? Why in 'a few days'?" I make air quotes around my repeated use of his specific phrasing. Edward sighs, then shakes his head with a low laugh.

"You don't miss much, do you?"

"I miss a lot, and you're still avoiding."

We've reached my house, and as Edward pulls into the driveway, the rain begins to fall. Not in its usual drizzle, but an abrupt and sudden downpour that pounds down on the car and sheets down the windows. I contemplate whether or not I can get from here to the house without getting soaked and grimace at the futility of that idea. I could sit and wait it out, except I'm familiar enough with Forks weather now to know that wait would be ridiculously long. Plus, I'm thirsty and still kind of cold. A hot drink sounds really good right now, and I won't get it sitting here. I pull the hood of my jacket up, and without waiting for Edward to open the door, make a dart for the house. For the sake of my neighbours, Edward follows at a normal pace, though he still manages to scoop me up at the bottom of the stairs and propel me forward to the drier space under the awning. He has the door unlocked and me inside before I've even gotten a chance to wipe the rain out of my eyes.

Stamping my feet to shed the water before shucking my shoes, I whine and shake my cold hands, wiping them off on my equally cold, damp jeans. "Yuck. God, I hate this weather. I hate the cold and the damp. I'm freezing." I sound petulant and bratty, and Edward laughs, helping me out of my jacket before surprising me with a kiss on what must be a pout. I forget all about being cold and slip my arms around his neck, twining my fingers in his wet hair. I don't hate all cold things apparently, I think to myself as he pulls me closer and brushes his cold mouth over mine.

As usual he pulls away way too soon for my liking, taking his kiss from my mouth to the tip of my nose, and then my forehead, before reaching behind his head to untangle my fingers from his hair. I think about arguing, then just as quickly decide not to. It's enough he initiated the kiss, and he's here with me. Charlie's still at the station, so I'm not about to waste time alone with Edward by pushing his boundaries. I know it's not easy for him to kiss me. I'll take what I can get.

Plus, I haven't forgotten about Jasper.

"Why don't you go change into drier, warmer clothes. I'll make you something hot to drink," he offers, hanging my coat and his in the closet.

"Mm, you read my mind," I reply, pushing boundaries just a little by wrapping my arms around his waist and snuggling into him for a hug. Surely hugs aren't restricted, are they?

Edward drops a kiss on the top of my head. I think I hear him inhale, and apparently hugs aren't restricted because his arms go around me, and oh, ugh, it feels so good to be close to him like this. Or it does until his cold body begins to radiate through the conduit of my damp clothes, making me shiver.

He lets me go, spinning me gently towards the hall and the steps that lead upstairs. "Go and change before you get a chill that ends up as pneumonia with your luck," he teases. He turns in the other direction towards the kitchen. "Do you want tea or hot chocolate?"

"Hot chocolate, definitely," I reply with a little groan at the thought. "There's some mix in the pantry, and use the back right burner on the stove for the kettle. It works the best." Charlie seriously needs new appliances. His bachelor lifestyle and habit of eating most of his meals at the diner means he hasn't replaced anything since Renee and I lived here with him.

Upstairs, I change into comfy sweat pants and a baggy sweater that used to belong to Phil, complete with a Phoenix Coyotes emblem on the back. Not the most attractive attire, but warm and cosy. I throw on a pair of thick, white fuzzy socks – a gift from Renee to keep me warm on days just like this in Forks – and head back down to find Edward warming milk in a pan on the designated burner.

I stand in the doorway, a little self conscious, and a whole lot mesmerized by the sight of him moving around my homely little kitchen. He looks up at me, taking in the clothes and the fuzzy socks. I blush a little.

"I know. I look..." I'm about to say ridiculous, but he cuts me off.

"Cute. And warm." Leaning towards me he ducks his head and dusts a quick kiss over my lips, his sweet breath going straight to my head before he goes back to his task.

"You could have just boiled water," I tell him, taking a seat at the kitchen table to flip through some of the mail Charlie left there.

"I know," he answers with a small smile as he pours the steaming milk into a mug and stirs in the mix. "I seem to remember my mother making hot cocoa this way though." He shrugs, looking vaguely troubled. "Or do you not like it like this?"

I'm not sure if it's the memory that bothers him, or the thought he's made the drink wrong. Either way, I'm quick to reassure him. "No, it's perfect. Renee used to make it like that all the time for me when I was little." I get up to take the mug from his hands, glad to see the frown vanish when I take a sip and declare it perfect. It's a little watery, but I'm not about to complain, especially when he gives me his gorgeous crooked smile, looking pleased.

I gesture to the living room. "Can you sit with me for a bit, or do you need to leave to check on Jasper?"

Edward arches an eyebrow, chuckling a little as I smile with an expression that lets him know I have no intention of dropping the topic.

He follows and takes a seat beside me as I curl up into a corner of the sofa, facing him with my feet tucked under my bum. I'm still a little cold. Edward reaches for the throw that's on the back of the couch and tucks it around my legs.

"You worry too much," he tells me, once again evading. "Jasper's fine."

"You said some days are worse for him than others. Today seemed like it was a lot worse."

Edward's mouth quirks upwards a bit at that. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"I'm sorry," I respond. "If it's personal, you don't have to tell me. I just…" I shrug, suddenly feeling uncomfortable prying the way I know I am.

"You just…?" Edward prompts.

I shrug again, biting my lip. "I just…I don't know Jasper very well, but I care about you, so…I care about him, too, by default, you know?"

He nods, and I continue, hoping to make him understand and open up to me. "And if I'm going to be a part of…your world, I feel like I should know…things." Frustration pours over me as I struggle to convey how I feel, what I want. Much like our physical relationship in terms of touching and kissing, I know there are still boundaries. I'm not sure where the lines are when it comes to what I can ask or demand in answers. "I'm sorry," I tell him again, forcing myself to meet his eyes. "If I'm prying, just tell me to shut up and I will. I just really don't like to be left out of the loop, and I want to understand…everything."

I wrap my hands harder around my mug of hot chocolate and take a quick sip that scalds my mouth a little, feeling all kinds of self conscious and presumptuous.

Noticing my wince, Edward takes the cup and blows on the liquid. I can tell he's thinking, so I let him, trying not to take his silence and seeming unwillingness to discuss this with me as a bad sign.

After a minute, he hands me the cup back, stroking my fingers with his as I take it.

He looks a bit amused and perturbed all at the same time.

"Is it private? Do you want me to shut up?" I blurt when I can't take the silence anymore, feeling my face heat up and trying to hide it by taking another drink. Of course, it's the perfect temperature now.

He shakes his head and laughs again. That low little rumble that makes my skin tingle as he runs his hands through his hair.

"It's not private, and no, I don't want you to shut up."

"You're making me nervous. Is it so awful?"

"No," he laughs again, shaking his head and making me feel like I'm missing the punch line to some joke. "It's just a…delicate subject matter."

It's not like Edward to stumble or hesitate with words.

"Delicate how?" I'm starting to feel like I'm yanking teeth. Vampire teeth no less.

"It would seem," he begins, not fully meeting my eyes, "that many of the female students in Jasper's classes have, most likely due to such close proximity on a near daily basis, begun to…synchronize in their monthly cycles."

I blink as his words sink in. "Oh…so…"

He does meet my gaze then. I can see he's trying not to laugh and also that he's watching me closely for my reaction, a touch of worry mingling with the amusement in his expression.

"So they're all…and Jasper can…" It dawns on me all of a sudden as I stumble over this that if Jasper can detect that, then they can all detect that and…oh, my God.

Edward sees the dawning of that idea all over my face. "Can you?" I whisper.

He nods slowly. "Vampires, remember. We can detect blood very easily."

Like sharks in the water, I think, though I keep my filters in place and don't say that out loud.

I resist the urge to squirm, just barely, and try to be mature. "That's…gro..." I start to say gross, but it occurs to me all of a sudden that considering the facts, it's no grosser to them than it would be for a human to smell food. "That's awful," I amend. "For you guys, I mean."

I can't fully resist the urge to squirm then, and I use the need to move as an excuse to put my mug down on the coffee table. I pick at a few loose threads on the blanket over my legs, mulling it all over in my head and taking in all the extenuating details.

"It's a little harder for Jasper," he says quietly. I can feel him watching me, probably wondering if this is the point where I wig out and run away screaming. I swallow around a small lump in my throat, because not going to lie – I do feel a little like doing that, though most likely not for the reasons he's thinking. He's always waiting for me to get a clue that he's some horrible monster, but the only thing I'm thinking is – will he be able to smell me when it's that time of the month? And what will happen then? Will I need to stay away from him? From all of them?

"How do you…stand it? Any of you?" I blush, hard. My cycle's not really regular, and so far we haven't been together when I've…but that won't last. I'm expecting a visit from Mother Nature any day now.

"It's not the same as fresh blood, Bella. It's old. The female body just sheds what it doesn't need. Only fresh blood can create a frenzy in my kind. We wouldn't be able to attend high school otherwise, or be anywhere in public for that matter." He smiles, not unkindly, at my misunderstanding. "It's only that for Jasper, with his gift, it's a bit of a mental torture. He can handle a few emotions at a time, but being locked in a room with a half a dozen girls with varying degrees of mood swings ranging from violent tendencies to crying jags is rather unpleasant and taxing for him."

I can't help but smile and roll my eyes a little. "Well yeah, poor Jasper," I say sarcastically. "Because it's a picnic for us girls."

Edward makes an amused sound. I bite my lip and pull more threads out of the blanket. I'm amassing quite the little pile of loose threads.

"So…is this…" I stumble, shake my head, and force myself to be mature and look at him. "Is this something we should talk about? In terms of you and me and how something like that will affect you?"

He smiles, gently putting a finger under my chin so I can't look away. "Look at you blush," he murmurs. "To answer your question; it isn't something we need to talk about. It won't adversely affect me to be around you."

"Not even with the way my...blood is like a drug to you?"

"No. It may be a bit more noticeable to me, but it won't make you anymore appealing."

I squirm again, the heat in my face feeling like an inferno. "Will it make me less appealing?" Try as I might, I can't let go of the human blood is gross factor.

"Nothing can make you less appealing, Bella."

I shrug, thinking that's debatable, wondering what he'll think of me if I have a cold, or the stomach flu, or even a fat zit on my chin. I'm human, and he's not. I let that go for now, sticking with the topic at hand, which is more than enough to make me feel insecure without worrying about runny noses, vomit, or acne.

"But you'll know when I'm...?" I ask, looking at my mug on the table, the magazine by Charlie's chair, the window, anywhere but at him. Once again I admonish myself to be a big girl and not such a wuss. I meet his eyes, determined to be frank and open. "When I have my period, you'll know, even if don't tell you."

He nods.

"So will everyone else?" I'm cringing internally, but outwardly I try to project calm.

He nods again, watching me so closely.

I feel like I want to die.

Edward reaches out and, blanket and all, gathers me into his lap with a sigh. "Breathe, Bella." I have my eyes closed, but I can tell he's smiling.

"That's mortifying."

"Don't be embarrassed."

"Easy for you to say."

"I'm sorry," he apologizes. "We can't help what we'll know, but you shouldn't feel uncomfortable. It's a natural thing that we encounter daily, no different than the way you yourself register a person's smell, the differences in cologne or perfume or lotion or fabric softener on clothing."

"Yeah, but…" I trail off unsure. "That's so...personal."

"If I'm not mistaken, now that I'm your boyfriend," he smirks a little at that, looking happy and teasing lightly, "is it not something you'd share with me, regardless? Most girlfriends share such details." His lips press softly against my jaw, brushing light kisses back and forth on my skin, distracting me. My heart flips a little with the way he says, 'girlfriend.'

"Most girls aren't dating a vampire," I retort with a small snort of amusement despite my discomfort. I settle against him with a sigh as he kisses my neck before lifting his head to look at me.

"I'd like to think you would tell me," he says quietly, something intense and unfathomable in his eyes.

"Why?" I'm surprised, and it shows in my widened eyes.

"I'd like to think you could tell me anything," he answers, still in that quiet way. "I'd like to think there was nothing between us that was secret." He runs his fingers down my cheek, gently. "If you felt unwell, or tired, or had pain, I'd like to think you'd tell me, that you'd let me comfort you, take care of you."

My knee jerk reaction is to scoff and tell him I hardly need to be taken care of, but one look at his face makes me change my mind. This is new to him as well, I realize suddenly. Intimacy, connecting so personally with someone. And, to be fair, hiding out for an entire week just to avoid being a little embarrassed would be dumb. He's right. In this day and age, with every other commercial on TV some overly glamorized advertisement for tampons, with co-ed sex education classes and open relationships, girls tell their boyfriends all the time about monthly issues. Whether it's to complain about PMS, or get sympathy for cramps, or even just to announce their excuse for being bitchy. Just last week I saw Mike Newton rubbing Jessica Stanley's back during lunch while she whined about how bloated she was and how awful she felt.

"I've been to medical school twice, Bella. It's nothing to be embarrassed about." he adds, teasing once again.

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, well, I haven't, so..."

Sighing, I nestle against him, warmer now and enjoying the cool solidness of his arms around me.

"I do feel sorry for Jasper, though," I admit with a little laugh. "Some of those girls are hard enough to take without PMS or cramps making them more unpleasant."

I snuggle closer, and he breathes a small chuckle against my cheek, skimming the curve with his nose in back and forth motions that feel like a nuzzle.

"Alice will take care of him. They'll just play hooky for a few days."

"I wish we could play hooky for a few days," I retort, thinking of all the prying eyes and nosy, speculative whispering.

"Charlie's still a little unsure of our relationship. I think it best to avoid doing anything that might make him think I'm a bad influence," he answers.

"Yeah. I guess."

I turn my face towards his, our lips brushing, trying not to be demanding but wanting so much for him to kiss me. He hesitates for just a second then his lips find mine, cool and firm and sweet...

He pulls back quickly, and I stifle a groan of frustration.

"Speaking of Charlie," he says, his hand sliding up my back and under my hair to the nape of my neck. I shiver all over in the best way. "What time are you expecting him home?"

"Not until eight," I manage to reply despite the slightly light-headed feel even the smallest of kisses gives me. "Can you stay?" I ask again.

"Yes, I can stay."

"Good."

He suddenly lowers me to my back on the couch, moving to lie beside me so that we're closer than he's ever allowed us to be before. His eyes scan my face with a small smile.

"It is good," he replies, laughter in his eyes as he lowers his head and finally, finally, kisses me for real.

. . . . . .

**Author's Note:**

> A/N - Lots of controversy on this subject matter. I realize this. I know many authors write/believe that Edward couldn't possibly be around Bella during her period, but this is supposed to be canon. Since SM stated he could - and more importantly she wrote them on a secluded desert island for their honeymoon during a time that - barring conception - the little box of tampons Alice included in her suitcase would have been necessary - I feel like he would have been fine with it. ;-) Agree? Disagree? Feel free to tell me. That's the fun of this fandom. There is something for all mind frames and opinions. :-)
> 
> Thanks for reading.
> 
> Aleea


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